The rafters above me faded into shadow as the night bled into dawn. I hadn’t slept. Couldn’t. The bond still thrummed in my chest, faint but insistent, Maddox, calling to me from somewhere far beyond stone and steel. Every heartbeat was a whisper of his name.
But morning had no patience for grief. Emberlight stirred like a hive just before sunrise, and I rose with it, tying back my hair, lacing the apron around my waist like armour. Kora, the quiet maid. Kora, the humble girl from a nameless village. Not Celina, not heir, not marked.
And definitely not a threat.
The palace buzzed louder than usual. Word had already spread: a feast was being held that evening for visiting lords and merchants from allied realms. New banners had gone up overnight, deep crimson threaded with gold, and the k
